The conundrum of gauging reactions to films at Cannes is at once mystifying (you can never really know how a film is being received when the audience is cheering in the same room as the stars of the film they just watched) and totally convenient (how many people still remind you a movie they didn’t like was booed at Cannes?).

Reactions are amplified on either end; the festival is arguably the most important, prestigious stage on which a new film from an established auteur can thrive or shrivel, and the simple act of mixing cinematic passion with the critics’ self-important prestige of being there to experience these films for the first time as the world watches bubbles to the top, resulting in 10-minute standing ovations for films like, say, Money Monster, which go on to receive widespread critical “mehs” across the board.

Pedro Almodovar’s Julieta and Olivier Assayas’ Personal Shopper were perhaps two of the most anticipated titles screening in competition this year, and both have descended from the peaks of expectation to polarized reaction on the ground below. The psychological horror film Personal Shopper, of course, notably drew a smattering of boos from the Cannes crowd — not enough to cause The Sea of Trees-level concern (seriously, that film has yet to be released), but enough that Stewart and Assayas addressed the reaction at a Cannes press conference. “It happens to me once in a while where people just don’t get the ending,” Assayas said, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “For me, it’s the closest I can get to a happy ending. I’m sorry I can’t get much further than that.” He added: “When you come to Cannes, you have to be prepared for everything,” while Stewart said “Everybody did not boo. Let’s be clear.”

While many of the reviews have been negative (Why post them here? What could we possibly gain from that?), Personal Shopper has won over trusted and respected critics like Eric Kohn, who’s long proven that his criticism is as layered as he is observant; he sees things others don’t (most of the time), and his review for the film is glowing: “Kristen Stewart and Olivier Assayas deserve better than boos for Personal Shopper,” he writes noting Assayas’ willingness to “try something different” with the horror film, about a young woman (Stewart) attempting to make supernatural contact with her dead brother, and that’s what Cannes is all about, no? Kohn goes on:

“Stewart’s commitment to the role is impressive, and she exudes a curious sensuality previously unseen in her career. Alone one night at her employer’s home, her character engages in a fetishistic act that suggests she’s been possessed by a deviant spirit, if not something more overtly nefarious. Even when special effects sneak into the drama, they sort of dangle there, like question marks. “Personal Shopper” isn’t a ghost story so much as it examines the psychological underpinnings that make ghost stories creep us out… Nonetheless, “Personal Shopper” creates a fully realized universe that merges visceral dread with deeper observations about its causes. Audiences unwilling to wrestle with this fascinating gamble demonstrate the worst fear plaguing moviegoing culture: Something different.”

Julieta, on the other hand, has drawn a few decent reviews (The Wrap seemed satisfied, if not enthusiastic) while The Hollywood Reporter was a little displeased. Twitter, however, disagreed with THR (for the most part, as some haters were in there too).

All in all, does it really matter? We won’t see half of these movies for another year — or more — anyway. The resonance of the boos, cheers, and all the noise in between will long have wafted up and away, over the shores of southern France and into the ether of forgotten, empty criticism above.

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Once, when he was three, Joey Nolfi fancied himself as an exotic type and boldly told someone that he was “from North America.” He’s taken that status as self-appointed ambassador of the North American people and built with it a budding career in entertainment journalism. In other words: he’s written about awards season, film, pop culture, and the arts for a variety of publications including Entertainment Weekly, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, AFROPUNK, East End Fashion Magazine, and Naima Mora Online. He also acts, makes films, moonlights as a DJ/general nightlife legend, and can’t wait for the day that his friends have children that he can to take to the zoo one time and then spend the rest of his life patting himself on the back for it.

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Editor-in-Chief Joey Nolfi sifted through 87 years of Best Picture winners to come up with a formula that gauges Oscar traction. He ranked the films heading into this year's race, so you should check it out.

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RT @joeynolfi: AND ALSO Happy Presidents’ Day to President Natalie Portman at the end of Mars Attacks https://t.co/NrJGzYnAYh